Of course, Valerie Plame is talking about Robert Novak printing her name in his column.
That’s what her husband Joseph Wilson said when he came in on the morning
Novak’s column was published, July 2003. Today, Valerie Plame Wilson spoke in public
before Rep. Waxman’s committee, describing the day her husband came in and dropped
the newspaper on the bed and said: “He did it.”

When Rep. Dennis Kucinich questioned Ms. Plame, one answer jumped out. He asked
if covert agents were identified very often. Plame said, not that I’m aware,
especially not by their own government.

Chilling.

Rep. Diane Watson expressed propper outrage when she indignantly rebuffed notions
that Plame only had a desk job. That seems to be the only thread on
which the loyal Bushies, Scooter Libby and his puppeteer, Dick Cheney, are hanging
their disgrace. That a vice president of the United States would play any part
whatsoever in the outing of a C.I.A. covert agent is something I never dreamed
we’d ever talk about. I never could imagine the cover of a C.I.A. agent would
be outed over ideology and that either political party would play a part. There
was a time when this was unthinkable. In the era of Bush, it is not only thinkable,
but now a tragic, even potentially treasonous, part of history.

However, nothing
could keep Republicans from spewing their venom and ignorance as to whether
Valerie Plame was covert. Let us now put it to rest: Valerie Plame was covert.
There is no excuse for Sean Hannity, Mort Kondracke, Robert Novak, Brit Hume
and Victoria Toensing for casting doubt, except that their comments are politically
motivated. Everything is political in the Bush White House, even the C.I.A.

We can never make up for what the Bushies did to Valerie Plame. Even speaking
today Valerie Plame’s testimony and the questions being asked were under strict
guidelines, due to the open nature of the hearing. One thing is clear, as Rep.
Elijah Cummings took great pains to point out.

“I was a covert officer of the Central Intelligence
Agency.” – Valerie Plame

Rep. Paul Hodes brought up what Karl Rove told Chris Matthews, “Valerie
Plame is fair game.” Now imagine that it’s not Valerie Plame, but another
covert C.I.A. agent. Is anyone fair game? Or is it just people who get in the
way of Mr. Bush? Is it just whistleblowers who have information proving the
president lied in the SOTU speech?

Let’s also remember that this whole event stemmed around Joseph Wilson deflating
the Bush administration’s case for war. Nothing is clearer.

There seems to be no means the Administration will not use to hurt those who
disagree or who have knowledge that will harm the Administration. It’s chilling
when all the energy of the White House and the federal government are focused
on private citizens, through the press. But when one of those people works as
a classified C.I.A. agent working on WMDs it’s especially shocking.

Finally hearing from Valerie Plame in her own words brings the whole sorry
behavior from Bush administration into bright light. Congressman Waxman, my
former representative, makes us all proud by holding these hearings. It gives
you faith that democracy under the Democrats actually represents what our Founders
had in mind. It’s called checks and balances. It’s called oversight.

But once again, let us never forget that the leaking of Valerie Plame’s covert
C.I.A. identity revolved around one subject, the case Mr. Bush and his Administration
made for war. Joseph Wilson punctured that case. It launched the Bush administration
into damage control that would end with the leaking of a covert C.I.A. operative’s
name in order to show the war whistleblower who was boss.

One final note, if Democrats weren’t in the majority in Congress, Valerie Plame
would never have been heard.